The African and Caribbean Society have unveiled only two per cent of KCL undergrads are black

Three weeks ago, a picture of 14 black Cambridge undergraduates went viral as it highlighted the lack of representation of ethnic minority students at Cambridge University.

The picture, taken by the African Caribbean Society, was picked up by the media alongside the hashtag #BlackMenofCambridgeUniversity. It was taken to encourage other young black men in the UK to apply for university.

This move inspired the KCL African and Caribbean Society to do the same, creating the hashtag #BlackMenofKingsCollegeLondon alongside a photograph of the society members.

In a Facebook post, the ACS wrote: “WE ARE KINGS AT KING’S.” A spokesperson for the society has said “the King’s College London African & Caribbean Society recognises that representation is imperative to increase the aspirations and attainment of people from under represented backgrounds.”

Olukoya told The Tab King’s: “King’s College London is very much committed to improving. Although there is a still a lot of work that needs to be done, these pictures show that we do exist.”

In the academic year 2015/16, 29 per cent of all KCL undergraduates were BME. While that number seems optimistic, only two per cent of those are black.

Although KCL’s stats are looking slightly better than the Cambridge University’s 2015/16 statistics, with only one per cent of the undergrads being black, these alarming stats act as an outcry for more movements voicing these minorities.

Speaking to The Tab, ACS President James Frater said: “As a Caribbean male studying Medicine at a Russell Group university, I understand too well, the importance of representation.”

He continued: “Being able to see someone that looks like you and has a similar background to you, in a position that you hope to be in, does wonders for self belief and as a consequence will help to raise aspirations and attainment.

“I was lucky to have organisations like the Amos Bursary who helped me to develop skills needed to excel academically, professionally and personally. I was surrounded by people who came from similar backgrounds but were doing things that I thought I could only dream of.

“It was from then that I really saw and experienced the value of representation. It is the duty of my peers and myself to use the privilege of studying at a top institution, to show our generation and the generation coming that it is possible and it is achievable.”